**4. Considerations**

The large-scale planting of sugarcane crops in tropical regions brings risks that include a potential impact on the soil ecosystem sustainability. To be precise, these environmental risks begin from changes in the soil microbial community, soil physicochemical factors, and GHG emissions from the land use conversion to sugarcane fields. After a relatively long time of fertilizer applications and recycling crop residue on an annual and cyclical (plant stage and ratoons) basis, the ability of the sugarcane soil to maintain its potential for self-regulation in the long term, i.e., its sustainability is threatened. Nutrient management, soil amendments, crop residue, and harvest management in sugarcane soils affect soil microbes at multiple ecological levels, i.e., biomass, community structure, abundance and composition, and taxonomic and functional groups. Consequently, biogeochemical processes mediated by soil microbes are also affected, disturbing the GHG emissions from the soil to the atmosphere in these sugarcane agricultural areas (**Figure 1**).

**Author details**

Camila Bolfarini Bento<sup>1</sup>

Leticia Pedroso Ramos<sup>1</sup>

Brazil

**References**

Janaina Braga do Carmo1,2

Acacio Aparecido Navarrete1,2\*, Leonardo Machado Pitombo<sup>2</sup>

Address all correspondence to: acacionavarrete@gmail.com

University of São Carlos, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

University of São Carlos, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

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1 Graduate Program of Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring PPGBMA, Federal

2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos, Sorocaba, SP,

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[2] UNICA – Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association. 2016. Sugarcane Industry in Brazil: Ethanol, Sugar and Bioelectricity. Available from: http://sugarcane.org/resourcelibrary/

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Multi-Analytical Interactions in Support of Sugarcane Agroecosystems Sustainability in Tropical…

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19

It is understood that sugarcane renewal is a critical stage for disturbance of the soil ecosystem, in which soil microbes and GHG emissions are affected by soil tillage. Hence, new sugarcane varieties able to delay the need for renewing their planting can cooperate to mitigate belowground atmospheric risks of sugarcane agroecosystems for tropical soil sustainability. In addition, it is recommended to develop technologies for renewing sugarcane cultivation which are able to avoid severe impacts to the soil environment. It is also necessary to enhance farmer access to nitrification inhibitors and controlled-release fertilizers, which have a small market share because of high prices. Although more attention must be devoted to understanding the combined effects of nitrification inhibitors and organic fertilizers on soil microbes and GHG emissions, especially in warm tropical soils, the importance of these products has increased due to the agronomic and environmental benefits already revealed.

In addition, new efforts are needed to quantify the effects of land use changes in sugarcane agricultural fields in tropical regions as well as the effects of nutrient management, soil amendments, crop residue, and harvest management in these agricultural areas on soil microbes and GHG emissions, also taking into account the microbial interactions with physical and chemical factors. Nevertheless, our chapter provides clear signals of the predictable nature of the soil microbe, soil physicochemical factors including labile fractions from soil organic matter, and GHG emission responses to agronomic practices in sugarcane agriculture, which can be used to conceptualize future studies on the understanding of human decision-making for tropical soil sustainability.
